King Charles and The Princess Royal came together as the Colonel in Chief of The Household Cavalry and Colonel of The Blues and Royals retrospectively to attend the presentation of new standards to The Life Guards and the Blues and Royals. The presentation took place at Windsor Castle.
His Majesty was received on the dais in the Quadrangle by a Royal Salute and the National Anthem was played. Previously, the Quadrangle of the Castle has been used for scaled back Trooping the Colour in the 2020, as well as in 2021.
During the ceremony, The Band of the Household Cavalry, The Dismounted Squadrons and Mounted Troops were positioned in the Quadrangle. At the centre of the parade was the silver kettle drums with the new Union Standards placed upon them. The Sovereign’s Standards were marched on parade.
The King, together with The Princess Royal, and Lieutenant General Sir Edward Smyth-Osbourne, as Colonel of The Life Guards, inspected the parade.
His Majesty addressed the parade, before a Royal Fanfare and the parade march past, where he gave it ‘the greatest pride to be able to present these new Standards to you today, especially in the presence of so many of the Regimental family’.
His Majesty added how these ‘Standards remain a physical reminder of that very personal bond between the Sovereign and the Regiments of The Life Guards and The Blues and Royals. They have lasted the test of time in various guises since before the Restoration to the present day. The one-time physical rallying point for your forebears, although they are now more often seen on parade, they remain a golden thread that connects the present to an illustrious past’.
‘The Household Cavalry is renowned worldwide for the splendours of all those unique ceremonies at the heart of the nation, and today, seeing you all on parade here, I am fully aware you continue to represent the very best of that ceremonial brilliance. Moreover, looking at these new Standards, you will see your history written in battle honours from Dettingen and Tangier to Afghanistan. It is also written in the design of your uniforms, and on the medals that you hold and wear. Together, these all show that even while you perpetually produce the highest standards of ceremonial magnificence, you remain at the same time a most impressive array of soldiers whose core role, and most vital characteristic that defines the Household Cavalry, is that tenacity to fight and win’.
The Colonel in Chief of The Household Cavalry said during this ‘time of global uncertainty’, there is a ‘crucial importance to preserve the attributes of excellence and achievement for which you are famous, and which are symbolised by these Standards’.
‘Emblazoned as they are with the battle honours earned by the blood, toil, tears and sweat of soldiers past, they are the embodied soul of the Regiment. I know you will cherish them, and as your Colonel-in-Chief, I commend these Standards to your safe-keeping as a source of honour and inspiration to all of you, whether on parade in London, or overseas. Carry them with pride, that you may do your duty and serve your Country well’
Colours were originally used as rallying points for troops on the battlefield and feature a regiment’s emblems and battle honours. Today, they are typically seen during ceremonial duties.
Infantry colours and their cavalry counterparts, which are known as standards and guidons, are among the most sacred of symbols of the Army.
